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‘Christmas Carol’ tradition continues at Coaster Theatre
Many versions of
‘The Dickens Play’ have
stood in the stage lights
By NANCY McCARTHY
FOR COAST WEEKEND
E
very time Ebenezer Scrooge steps on
stage at the Coaster Theatre this sea-
son, he continues a tradition that began
in Cannon Beach nearly 45 years ago.
This year, Scrooge is Darren Hull. He is
playing the role for the first time, backed by
a cast of 30 community members. Many of
those children and adults in “A Christmas
Carol: The Musical” have never been on the
stage before, but after months of rehearsals,
they are retelling the 19th century story about
the metamorphosis of a miserly tightwad to
an enlightened, generous uncle.
While this is Hull’s first time as Scrooge,
it’s not his first time participating in “Christ-
mas Carol.” Like some of those newbie cast
members this year, Hull, who moved to town
in 1989, decided to follow the suggestions of
his coworkers and joined the annual Scrooge
celebration at the Coaster.
“It was a wonderful way to get involved
in the community,” Hull said. “Some of the
people I met that first year are still my dear
friends all these years later. It was really a
feeling of community and family that I’ve
never forgotten.”
That year, the homespun musical was
called “The Dickens Play,” which Hull
described as a “mash-up of ‘Christmas Carol’
and ‘Oliver.’”
“There were different versions every year.
A lot of times whoever was directing that
year interpreted their own version of it,” Hull
said. “That year there were three narrators,
and we were on the stage and kind of moving
in and out of the story.”
Many different ‘Dickenses’
The year after the Coaster opened in 1972,
the gas crisis kept visitors away from Cannon
Beach. Vickie Hawkins, Cannon Beach Ga-
zette owner, suggested that the town develop
a Dickens theme. Store clerks dressed in
Dickens-era costumes, including bowler hats,
aprons and sleeve bands; window displays
hearkened back to the mid-19th century; and
Continued on Page 15
COURTESY COASTER THEATRE
A Coaster Theatre production of “The Dickens Play” in the 1970s
NANCY MCCARTHY PHOTO
Bill and Sally Steidel led the community
effort to produce a version of the ‘Christ-
mas Carol’ story at the Coaster Theatre.
The theater has had a holiday play there
since 1973, and at least 24 of those plays
have been about Ebenezer Scrooge.
IF YOU GO
What: A Christmas Carol: The
Musical
Where: Coaster Theater,108 N.
Hemlock St., Cannon Beach
When: Fridays and Saturdays, 7:30
p.m. through Dec. 23; Sunday mat-
inees, 3 p.m. Dec. 10 and 17; and
Thursday show, 7:30 p.m., Dec. 21
COURTESY COASTER THEATRE
A Coaster Theatre production of the “The Dickens Play” in the 1980s